


Breath of Life

by whichwitch (whatkindoffan)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Maybe OOC, OOC, Post-Hogwarts, Semi AU, dramione - Freeform, idk - Freeform, uhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28744803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatkindoffan/pseuds/whichwitch
Summary: After the war, Draco Malfoy made a deal. In exchange for his family's freedom, he would someday be called to complete a single task for the mysterious witch known only as Iustitia.Now, five years later, his debt has been called in. What he hoped would be a simple task will instead force him to make a choice between blood and water, head and heart.(Working title taken from Breath of Life by Florence & the Machine)
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Kudos: 4





	Breath of Life

It was a bitter November night. The sky was cloudless, the sort of clear night that would have every astrologer, stargazer, and UFO enthusiast scrambling for their telescopes, in the hopes of catching a glimpse of something spectacular. The moon was almost, but not quite, full, bathing the streets with a silvery light - good news for those who did not wish to meet a werewolf, or worse, as they hurried through a place like Knockturn Alley. 

Draco Malfoy was not one of these people. He hurried through the dark alleyway, dodging the moonlight, pulling at the collar of his trenchcoat in the hopes it would mask his face. Indeed, Draco was probably the only person wishing it were not such a beautiful night, instead hoping it were raining heavily, or at the very least cloudy; anything to provide some cover as he went about his business. 

It had been more than five years since the Battle of Hogwarts, and the end of the Second Wizarding War; the Malfoy family had spent the last four of those years attempting to regain their former social status - distancing themselves from their pasts, publicly renouncing the Dark Arts, and donating much of their wealth to charitable causes. Anything to convince the wizarding community that they were truly reformed. And while of course, this was not, strictly speaking, entirely true, Draco did not wish to be spotted lurking in a place like Knockturn Alley after dark. 

That said, he had a job to do. What the job entailed, he was not sure yet, and this made him nervous. It was, after all, not so long ago that, on his sixteenth birthday, he had been given a task by another dark wizard, swearing an oath to end the life of his former headmaster. He had been so proud then, naively so, that the Dark Lord had trusted him with such a task, but as his sixteenth year had slipped away, he had found himself sinking deeper, into darkness, but also despair, as he struggled with the order. In the end, he had failed, and although his punishment had not been severe, he had brought shame upon his family; the Malfoys had quickly lost influence among the Death Eaters, falling out of the favor of the Dark Lord, who had then joined them at the manor, using their home to interrogate and imprison. Those had been the darkest days; Draco still had nightmares about the people he watched be tortured and murdered in the very place he had called home. 

But this time, Draco mused, things would surely be different. He was not attempting to prove his family’s loyalty to a maniac; rather, he was simply repaying a debt. 

The witch he was seeking tonight was known as  _ Iustitia _ ; his knowledge of Latin informed him that this meant ‘justice’, but beyond that, he knew little else; only that Iustitia was responsible for a number of Death Eaters, including Draco’s father Lucious, walking away from their post-war trials with little more than a large fine. Few had met the witch in person, only those who had been called to repay the debt. Despite it being Narcissa’s idea to involve Iustitia, it had been Draco who had signed the deal with the representative, tying himself to the mysterious figure until he was called. He had heard whispers as to what these tasks entailed, and, to his relief, they had not sounded too bad; simple tasks ranging from stealing magical artefacts from Muggle museums, drafting illegal potions for sale, or sourcing information on the Ministry of Magic. The more he thought about it, he surmised, this would likely be a simple job, when compared to anything he had done as…

_ A Death Eater. _ He winced. No, this would surely be easy. No trying to repair a Vanishing Cabinet, no sneaking Death Eaters into a school, and certainly no murder. Easy. 

Turning one final corner, he came to a halt outside what had once been a small shop. The windows were now boarded up, and the front was painted entirely in peeling black paint. A thick layer of grime coated the windowsills, and there was a crack in the step leading to the door. The building was unassuming, blending into the dark street. Only a small red circle in the corner of the door indicated to Draco that he had found the correct place; number 37, Giants Lane. He reached towards the brass knocker, hesitating briefly, before knowing twice, pausing, and then knocking a further four times. Then, he waited, and as the minutes ticked by, he began wondering if he had the code wrong. Then, finally, after what seemed like hours, the door swung open, and with a deep breath, he stepped into the darkness. 


End file.
